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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spring — of water
  8. press — a publisher
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spring — the season
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rest — what's left
  14. row — to paddle
  15. press — to push
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. branch — a division
  18. rest — a break

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com